Analysts Set Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Target Price at $20.00

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE BLCO opened at $15.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.12. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $13.16 and a 1 year high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 80.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 13,302 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at approximately $870,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at approximately $957,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.